Project Mom Casting

I realized something today.  In my attempts to figure out if I was really crazy enough to take a leap of faith and fill out the submission form for Project Mom Casting, I learned something about myself.  This blog is an extension of me, of who I am.  It's not just about my life with four kids, or my marriage to the most patient man ever, or my place to vent, or even my refuge.  It offers all of those, but it isn't just ABOUT those things.  It IS those things.  This blog is WHO I am.  It's the person I want to be.  When I write, I don't write as the timid, self-conscious girl that I am on the outside.  I write from my heart.  This blog shows the side of me that I have the most trouble expressing, because sometimes I forget that Jamie still exists.  I'm am taken aback at this realization.  This blog, and the way that I write it...it's that person living inside of me that I sometimes forget about.  I'm not JUST a mom.  I'm not JUST a wife.  I'm a real person, with real feelings, and fears and dreams.  And it is here that I get to BE that person.  What an amazing discovery for me!  And as I am writing and beginning to understand all of this, I know that I WANT to be a part of Project Mom Casting.  A reality show about bloggers?  COUNT ME IN!  

Here is my submission:

My name is Jamie and I am the author of a blog about clutter, chaos, children and a little bit of crazy thrown in.  My blog is called Little Bishop Chronicles because my husband and I have so many kids (OK, *only* four) that we can't remember their names half of the time; so one day we just took to calling them "Little Bishops".  After all, they are little clones of us and it's just easier to round them all up by saying "Let's go Little Bishops!" rather than trying to gather them individually and ultimately shouting "Hey, whatever your name is, get in the car!"  

I love to share the funny things that my kids say and do (four very unique little individuals allow for plenty of writing material), as well as sharing my dreams (currently it is going to culinary school).  I will also talk, from time to time, about my losing battle with adhering to a yeast-free diet, and my struggles with anxiety and depression, and how those affect my life as a wife and mother.

I write about my kids as a way to capture their lives.  It's a memory book of sorts for me, and ultimately for them to look back on after they have grown up and moved away.  They will move out someday right?

I write about my dreams so that I don't forget that I am somebody.  That I have goals and dreams and want to do something I am passionate about.  And let's face it...I love food!  Why not go to cooking school and work on one of those dreams!  That journey will begin soon...

I write about my struggles with weight loss because it is a reminder to me and others out there that we are not alone.  That our weight and how we look doesn't define us.  That even though we fail from time to time, we can get back up and try again.  I don't think that cooking school will help me win my battle...

I write about my personal struggles with anxiety and depression because people are too afraid to talk about it.  I'm tired of feeling like it's a bad thing, or that it defines who I am as a person, as a wife, and as a mother.  Others out there need to know that it's OK to talk about it.  It's OK to admit that you are frustrated or frazzled or ready to quit.  It's OK to admit that you take an anti-depressant or anti-anxiety medication because you need it to make it through the day.  YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

I may never have thousands of readers.  Mine will never be the most talked about blog on the internet.  But that doesn't matter to me.  This is my place of refuge and comfort.  It's a hobby, it's therapy and it is a part of who I am.